Fighting Fire with Fire
by KrissyK
Summary: Emily is in New York when she gets the call from Effy that changes everything. She immediately rushes back to London to see her dying girlfriend. (set from right before the end of Skins Fire and onward. warnings: both happy and sad feels ahead)
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Hi All! So this is my first Skins fanfic (though i'm pretty sure i've read ever Naomily fic on here). I've written a bunch of stuff for other fandoms but inevitably end up forgetting my password to those accounts once I've finished the story. Anyway, I wanted to write something about Fire (which I'm still getting emotional about)**

**This takes place starting right before the end of Fire and will continue past the end. That's all I can say without spoiling it. Hope you enjoy :)**

**Obviously I don't own Skins.**

"Shoes off ma'am," snaps the TSA officer as I go to walk through the X-ray screening machine.

"Sorry," I mutter, my voice hoarse from screaming profanities at the world. I'd been sitting in kitchen with my flatmates, Maxxie and Evan when Effy had called.

"Ems your phone," Maxxie nodded to my mobile sitting on the counter as it rang out some annoying preset ringtone. I shoveled a spoonful of Cheerios into my mouth and glared at Evan, daring him to even try and steal a bite as I jumped up and hurried to pick up the phone.

"Hello!" I answered, without looking at the caller ID. The only ones who called my mobile were Chris and Evan and my boss. Everyone back in England tended to email or Skype me, it was less expensive and international calling fees were crazy.

"Emily..it's Effy," came the voice on the other end of the line. The camera on Naomi's laptop had broken so she hadn't been able to Skype me in a while, I hadn't even heard Effys voice since the airport after my surprise visit home.

"Hey Eff! What's up?" I responded, not having yet caught onto Effys tone. I was going to be meeting this well famous photographer that afternoon and had been bubbling with excitement all morning.

"Emily," Effys voice was serious and I could hear her take a deep breath. She'd never been one for many words, but something about this pause made my skin prickle, my stomach churn in anticipation. "You need to come home. Naomi needs you."

My brain started racing. Something had happened. I was set to come home in three weeks for the holidays, but Effy wouldn't call me if it wasn't important. Something had happened to Naomi. I try and remember the last time we'd spoken. Her emails had become less frequent. The last time we had skyped she'd high off her tits. Fuck. What if she's overdosed? Or gotten herself in some sort of trouble?

"Emily..are you still there?" Came the voice on the other end.

"Wh-what happened?" I finally managed to croak out.

I could practically hear my friend's brain whirring, figuring out which words would be best to use. "N-Naomi sh-she's been sick f-or a while," I'd never heard Effy stutter before, "She doesn't have much time left. She's got cancer Emily." If it had been anyone else, I would have assumed there were playing a joke, but Effy didn't joke. My phone slid out of my hand and clattered to the ground, shattering. For a moment I was silent, staring into space, my mind blank. For one blissful moment there was nothing, the world didn't exist. Then, reality hurtled back towards me and the entire cosmos shattered.

I let out an ear splitting scream and fell to the ground. "No! No! No!" I yelled over and over, clawing at the ground below me. Maxxie's arms were around me barely a moment later and he pulled me into his lap, stroking my hair.

"Call Effy back on my phone and find out what the fuck she said," Maxxie demanded of his boyfriend. I clawed at the neckline of his shirt and dug my nails into the skin I found there while I continued to shout out profanities, my cheeks soaked with tears I hadn't even realized had been to fall. I don't know if time stopped entirely or if we jumped an hour forward, but the next thing I knew,I had she'd all the tears I was physically capable of crying. I was still shaking as I looked up at Maxxie, who had yet to let me go, despite the blood my nails had drawn.

"Emily..do you want me to go with you? Evan was able to find one ticket for a flight this afternoon, but I can try and fly standby."

Cancer. No time. Naomi. Dying. The words repeating over and over in my head like a mantra as I shook my head. I had to do this alone.

I don't know how I had made it to the airport. Actually, that's not true. Evan and Maxxie were how I'd made it. While Maxxie had held me as I sobbed for an hour, Evan had called Effy who'd told him and Maxxie the news. Evan had then immediately booked me a flight and had packed a suitcase for me. I knew they were still watching me as I went through security. I took my shoes off and proceeded through the scanner.

It was like my brain had turned off, going through the actions without thinking. I couldn't think without the tears. And if I got hysterical in the Kidd of the terminal, they'd surely never let me board the plane.

Cancer. No time. Naomi. Dying.

I don't know how I slept the entire plane ride. Maybe my body was just too exhausted to fight, or maybe it just knew I'd likely never truly be able to sleep again.

All I'd brought was my carry on so I hadn't needed to go to the baggage carousel. Instead, I headed out in search of Effy. Effy. She'd known. She'd known for a while. Naomi had been sick for a while. That's why we hadn't skyped. And Effy had know. She's known and had said fuck all to me. All that precious time she'd stolen from me

I don't know if Effy had said any sort of greeting to me as I saw her there, dressed to the nines, a frigid bitch. All I knew was how satisfying it felt to hear the slap of skin again skin as my hand made contact with her face.

As we made our way through the familiar London streets, I felt the tears prickling again. We finally came to a stop in the ambulance bay and I turned to look at Effy. I hate her then. I hate her for not telling me. For keeping her from me. I opened the door and stepped out. Effy made a move to follow me and I say with all the conviction I have left, "Stay where you are." My voice is shaky, I don't know how much longer I can hold it together. "Do you not think you've already taken enough from me as it is? You.." I sigh, I don't even know how to put it all into words. "You didn't even deserve this time with her. You stole it from me."

Cancer. No time. Naomi. Dying.

Effy stole her, she stole time from me. She stole time from _my_ Naomi. The brunette starts to defend herself but I cut her off, "I'll never forgive you for this," I assert. "Never." I slam the door on her face and turn towards the hospital.

Even after I find the Oncology wing and a nurse tells me Naomi's room number, I wander aimlessly around the halls. I'm not ready. I can't see her yet. I hate her. I hate her for not telling me, for not letting me be there for her. I need to be there. I need to see her. But I can't. I don't know yet what it is I'll be seeing, and I don't yet know how to prepare myself for what's to come.

It must have been at least an hour later that I finally find myself in front of Naomi's room. Effy's there. I don't know where she went after dropping me off, but she's back now. I shake my head as I look through the window at the girl lying on the bed. She'd so fragile, her head covered with only small tufts of brown hair. I don't recognise her. Not entirely. But I do. Because how could I not? How could I not recognise Naomi. My Naomi.

Cancer. No time. Naomi. Dying.

"I can't go in," I say to the girl standing beside me. I look at her. I hate her, but I need her. She loves Naomi too. "I just. I just need some more time." My voice is so shaky. I almost don't recognise it.

"There isn't anymore time Emily," Effy's soft voice responds, voicing what I already know. What I wish I didn't. I wish time would stop. That it wouldn't keep facing towards that inevitable moment when I know I'll lose her. When I'll lose Naomi.

"I'm so angry with her," my voices is still shaking, but it's stronger. Time's not stopping, it's speeding quite quickly away from us. She should have told me. Naomi should have told me.

"She's dying Emily."

The soft, true tones of my friend's voice cut straight to my core. I know she's dying, because I can feel myself dying along side her. "I know," I manage to croak out. I'm crying again. My shoulders are shaking and my voice is already so hoarse from crying and shouting. Effy pushed back my hair, comforting me like a mother would her child. I hold tight to her and the sobs continue to wrack my body. I can't breathe. I need to breath. Effy's hand is on my shoulder and I clutch it like a lifeline.

"Look at me," she says strongly. Breathe. I need to breathe. "Be strong. You need to be strong for her like she was strong for you." I'm breathing. I need to breathe. For her. I can do this for her. I could, would do anything for her. I breathe out. My breath is nearly steady now.

I turn towards the door and walk into the room that reeks of death. I drop my bag beside her bed as she moves her head. I think she's asleep. She looks so fragile, that were I to touch her, she would break. I lift up the covers that lay atop her and slide under them. Her translucent eyelids slide open, and it takes her a moment to understand what is going on. I don't know if it's the pain medication, or the pain itself, but she's fighting against something, fighting against it to see me.

"Emily.." Her voice is so soft and hoarse that I barely hear it.

"I'm here, I'm here." I wrap an arm around her and feel the cold reality of her frail, bony body. It's too much. I curl into her chest and start sobbing. This time she wraps an arm around me, trying to comfort me. Isn't it me supposed to be comforting her? But I can't. Because she's dying and there's no time. There's no time for impromptu trips. No time for making love slowly on the beach. No time for getting married at some cheap hotel. No time for buying our first home. No time for the two children we'd both agreed we wanted. No time for laughing at each other's first gray hair. No time for going to every country in the world together. No time for growing old together.

No time.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So I'm uploading 2 chapters in one day because I've got way too much time on my hands. I know the chapters haven't been terribly long so far, but as the story picks up, they'll likely get longer. Also, with shorter chapters I get them up twice as fast :)**

**thanks to all the readers so far and if you want to leave constructive reviews, please do :)**

**wish i owned skins. i don't though.**

Chapter 2: Naomi

She's here. Emily's here. She's so hurt though. I've hurt her again, I promised I'd never hurt her. She doesn't deserve to be hurt. She deserves to be loved and cherished for the rest of her life. I was supposed to be the one to hold her hand as we went shopping downtown. I was supposed to be the one wiped the tears from her eyes when she inevitably crushed her fingers in the car door, again. I was supposed to be the one she travelled the world with. I was supposed to be the one who cherished her until our hair turned gray and we sat in rocking chairs together, cursing the kids who left empty vodka bottles on our lawn. I was supposed to be the one to love her and cherish her for the rest of her life. And I hate myself for not being able to do that.

It hurts too much to stay awake. I know she's here though, I can still feel the weight of her on top of me. I want to stay awake and talk to her, to smooth her hair, to kiss her forehead. But my eyes are so heavy. Everything hurts, so much. The pain is just too much. I could die right now though, and I think I would die happy, because Emily's here. I wouldn't die without regret though, because I'm leaving Emily alone. It hurts. It hurts so much. I close my eyes, and let the darkness take me over.

_"Come on Noams! Try and catch me!" Emily giggles as she runs along the water's edge on the deserted beach._

_"Fucks sake," I mutter under my breath. I really need to cut back on the fags if I'm going to be chasing after Emily for the rest of my life. I can't help but smile as I break out into a sprint, chasing after my girl. She slows down just slightly. She wants me to catch her. I finally reach her and wrap my arms around her small body from behind. She squeals as the force of impact makes us crash together into the Arabian Sea._

_When we break the surface, we're both laughing. We've drifted out far enough to where I can stand fine, but where Emily's short stature makes it more difficult for her to do so. I pulled her towards me and she wraps her legs around around my wait, her arms around my neck. "So what do I get for catching you?" I ask with a smirk, my hands clutching her arse._

_"Hmm," Emily puts a look of concentration on her face, pretending to think of a reward for me. She grins before she leans forward and captures my lips with her own. I'm immediately left craving more and Emily, ever anticipatory of my actions, concedes to my desire by running her tongue across my bottom lip. I grant her access, though she'd never have to ask. Our tongues fight for dominance, but this isn't a battle either of us mind losing. It's a push and pull really, because neither of us ever gain dominance for long before the other catches up._

_The wave crashes down on us, pulling us from the distraction of one-another's bodies. I fall over, still clutching Emily and the wave brings us back to shallower water. I disentangle myself from Emily's limbs and extend a hand to her, helping her up. I can't help but rake my eyes over her body, her perfect tits and perk arse. I try and catch her eye, to see if she's caught me perving, only to find her eyes glued to my owns slick form. "Perv," I cackle, pulling back onto dry land. Goa hadn't been the shagfest either of us had been expecting, but three weeks in now, we were still figuring it out._

_Our first night in Goa, we could hardly contain our excitement, barely taking the time to drop our stuff off at the hostel before heading to the beach. The beach in Goa is so long, that it wasn't hard to find a place for ourselves, a place where no one would find us. We had sex on the beach our first night in Goa and it was nothing like either of us anticipated. Sand. Everywhere. I ended up with a UTI and was out of commission for a few days. It was also nearly impossible to get any alone time at the hostel. There was always someone around. Most of the kids at the hostel were our age or a bit older, mostly Brits and Yanks, none of them seemed to mind so much that Emily and I weren't sharing a cot for convenience's sake. The natives though, weren't quite so understanding, forcing our relationship to really be a more private one. There was no kissing in public when we went exploring, and certainly no sex where someone could walk in on us. So whenever we went to a more secluded area of the beach, we made full use of the ocean, where it was a bit harder to get sand in unwanted places, but where we wouldn't be seen by disapproving eyes._

_"So where are we going for our last night here?" I ask her. Tomorrow we'd be moving on to New Delhi, where we'd spend a day or so before continuing on with our year of travel. We had no plans on where we'd go next, figuring we'd decide based on what train or plane tickets were the cheapest. We both had places we wanted to go though. I wanted to go to Croatia at some point, and Emily is dying to go to Greece and Austria. We have nearly the entire year ahead of us for that though. We have our entire lives really._

_"It's a surprise," she grinned, obviously thinking about the night she had planned for us. There was a time when I would have forced her to tell me what she was thinking. That wasn't me anymore though. I trusted Emily. I trusted her with my everything, with my soul. I'd let her take me to the ends of the earth and back in the blink of an eye._

As always, my first thought when I wake up is 'who the fuck ran over me with a truck,' followed by a quick 'oh. I'm not dead.' Today, however, there's a third thought, one I hadn't allowed myself to think before, not even as wishful thinking, 'Is Emily here?' She is here though, my Emily. I can hear her voice, even if I can't force my eyes to open and see her face.

"Surely there must be some other option," she pleads. She sounds so desperate, so broken as she begs. Even before he responds, I know who it is she is begging.

"I'm sorry Emily, there really isn't. She didn't respond to treatment. The best we can do is make her feel comfortable for her last days. I know it'll be a comfort to her just having you here," Dr. Rosen responds.

"Please, isn't there always something new to try?" Her voice is shaking and I know she's crying. Sweet Emily, don't cry. I never wanted you to hurt like this ever again.

"She's too far gone for clinical trials, they don't take patients this far beyond reach. And likely the trials would even shorten what little life she has left between the stress and the horrible side effects they tend to have. That's if she didn't get the placebo. The best thing right now for you to do Emily is try and distract her from the pain. Love is pain's best medicine." If only love could cure cancer.

The door opens and shuts. Dr. Rosen has left. "Em.." I managed to croak as my eyelids peel themselves back. She turns around at the sound of my voice and comes to lay next to me on the bed. Her eyes are red and puffy from crying and I wipe a stray tear off her cheek. She smiles sadly at me and intertwined our fingers.

"I love you," I whisper.

"I love you more than anything," she responds, kissing my forehead, "And I will never, ever give up on you." Her voice has gained some strength and conviction. "You're not allowed to die, okay? Not until I say so. You're not dead yet, so I don't believe all hope is lost. I will never give up, okay?"

I nod as tears sting my eyes. I hurt so much. My whole body aches. My body wants to give up, to die. My heart aches. It aches for the girl tightly clutching my hand. And for the first time in months, my heart isn't ready to give up.


End file.
